Cheddar Ale Soup

The winter that won't let go....honestly it's exhausting. At least we have fabulous soup to keep us going! I used a hearty English ale called "Hobgoblin", but feel free to use what you like according to your tastes!

CHEDDAR ALE SOUP

2 leeks, sliced
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken stock
12 ounces of beer
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pound sharp cheddar (I used Welsh) grated

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and add leeks, carrots and celery. Stir occasionally until vegetables have browned and softened. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add flour and stir to coat, cook 1 minute until flour has browned slightly. Add all liquids and stirring until smooth. Reduce heat to simmer adding seasonings. Begin adding cheese by the handful and allowing to melt before adding the next. Cooking about 5 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

Serve immediately, fabulous garnished with a few bits of bacon!

Macaroni & Cheese....a cheesemongers favorite recipe

As promised....Mac & Cheese. 

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1/2 lb. good quality cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 lb Vlaskaas (or other aged gouda cheese), grated
1 lb sour cream
1 stick butter, melted
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.  When fully drained, mix with sour cream until pasta is evenly coated.

Mix together melted butter, eggs and milk.

In a large casserole dish (larger is better for this dish) place 1/2 of the pasta, cover with 1/2 the grated cheeses and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Layer the remaining pasta and cheese.

Pour egg/milk/butter mixture evenly over the pasta/cheese.  Cover dish with foil or tight fitting lid and bake 35 minutes.   Remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes until golden brown.

Devour, repeat.

Welsh Rarebit for Summer Days

This weekend brought some hot and steamy weather Michigan.  It was the perfect time to power wash the house (we are down to THREE weeks before the graduation party), make a giant bowl of Gazpacho, start a new novel and attend a Memorial Day parade.

Pierre was the happiest to go to the farm and play with his friends. 

The food highlight of the weekend was the Welsh Rarebit!  Basically an open faced grilled cheese, English style!

WELSH RAREBIT

1 Pound Cheddar Cheese, chopped (I used 1/2 Cantal and 1/2 Mature English Cheddar)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 teaspoon Coleman's Dry Mustard
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 Egg Yolks

8 Slices good Artisan Bread (I used a Cibatta)
Worcestershire Sauce

Under the broiler, toast bread until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cheese, sour cream, mustard, salt, pepper and egg yolks.  Mix until combined.

Place an even layer of the cheese mixture over the toasted bread and return to the broiler until melted and a deep golden brown.  Sprinkle with a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce and enjoy!  The drops of sauce really MAKE this combo, please don't omit it!

We really loved this dish and I see it becoming a year-round affair!  

 

Hungarian Beer Dip & Chorizo Mushroom Queso Dip

We had a great time at The Boulevard Market yesterday cooking up some easy entertaining dips!  Sandy deserves ALL the credit!  Both of these recipes are so tasty and unique yet familiar ingredients that guests will just gobble up!  I can't wait to make them for my family over New Years!  I'm sorry I didn't get any photos to share as the recipes looked very impressive too!  Especially the Hungarian Beer Cheese Dip in the loaf of bread!  Enjoy!

Hungarian Beer Cheese Dip

16 oz cream cheese
16 oz shredded Grafton Village 2 Year Cheddar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup Brown Ale
1 small, round loaf of bread (about 7 oz size)

Mix all ingredients untul smooth.  Hollow out bread , reserving pieces for dipping.  Spoon cheese mixture into hollowed loaf. Replace bread top and scatter remaining bread pieces around loaf for dipping.

 

Chorizo Mushroom Queso Dip

Olive Oil for coating pan
1/2 pound Spanish Chorizo
1/2 pound mushroom caps, quartered
1 cup diced Cabot Cheddar with Habanero or other pepper cheese
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Chips for dipping

Heat skillet and oil. Dice Chorizo and add to pan to render fat. ( remove casing if you like) When crumbly and brown, add mushrooms and cook until just tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer to small casserole or baking dish and top with cheese. Bake until bubbly. Remove from oven and top with scallions. Serve with chips for dipping.
 

Doggie Treats!

Ahhh, a day off!  With nothing more important to do than relax!  These days are freedom, they are dreaming days, planning, renewing, napping, baking and enjoying days!  Today I made a new recipe...tiny treats for Pierre and bigger treats for his friends!  This is new territory for me...baking for a dog?  Why not?  It took about 30 minutes including the baking time and Pierre is one happy terrier!!  I couldn't believe the amount of doggie treat recipes available on the internet!  The one I'm sharing was posted by many people, so I won't attribute to anyone, but I did add some grated cheese (surprise right?) to the original recipe, about 3/4 of a cup of cheddar that was a bit past it's prime.

Pierre helping bake treats

I had everything I needed on hand!

Waiting patiently by oven for treats to be finished!

We are learning the in's and out's of dog care.  Ye-gads, I had to post a poison list on the fridge!  I'm hoping the Sunday trip to The Boulevard Market had no lasting effects, as Pierre found and promptly ate a piece of Pannetone with raisins, a few stray coffee beans as well as many crumbs of cheese and salame, 2 toothpicks and some artificial greenery.  Yes, I technically stopped in to work...that did not happen.  But who can work with all that cuteness staring at you?

Happy Day Doggie Treats

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use another type of flour if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth (I used smooth this time)
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking sheets.

Mix all ingredients together until combined.  Turn out onto floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out shapes (dog bone maybe?) and bake for about 20 minutes until browned and crunchy.  I cut ours into small bites...but if you do larger biscuits (cookie size), you will need to add 8 minutes to baking time.  I added the cheese right before rolling out and brushed mine with an egg wash to make them a bit shiny.

Hope you enjoy your next day off with a doggie too!

     

Late Summer Corn Chowder

Pisum sativum; Sweet Corn

Born and raised in a farming family, there are 2 types of sweet corn; "not enough" and "too much"! Every year, we wait for the first glossy kernels to ripen and explode in your mouth with the first bite! We are impatient and eat them a bit too young, but it matters not, because they are so delicious! At the end of the season, we are taking those golden stalks for granted and we're PICKY! "This is overripe", "this is too chewy", "are we having sweet corn again?!", "not as sweet as last weeks'" and on it goes. We are cutting the stuff off of the cobs like no tomorrow and running out of ziploc bags and vacuum sealer bags. The counters are sticky, and you can't seem to get every little cut kernel swept off the floor. However, those fat little bags of steamy corn will remind us of summer come January...and you can't just throw it away!

With a rain storm brewing last evening, I made my favorite corn chowder. Rich, thick, packed with flavor and garnished with cheese! It was a masterpiece that I'd like to share with you! I actually saved about 3 days worth of leftover sweet corn just for the soup, so no waste! I hope you enjoy as much as we did! I served my soup with toasted bagels layered with a bit of cream cheese and a thick slice of fresh tomato! Late Summer....

10 ears of sweet corn blanched and cut from cob
1 1/2 medium sweet white onions, chopped
1 pound baby red potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 pound of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
8 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon fresh snipped chives
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, snipped
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, snipped
1/2 pound of good quality cheddar cheese

In a large dutch oven, brown bacon in olive oil until crispy. Remove bacon and add fresh onions and saute over medium heat until translucent and soft. Add flour and butter and cook about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and potatoes and let cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add sweet corn, herbs and heavy cream and reduce heat to simmer about 10 minutes or until soup has thickened. Garnish with shredded Irish cheddar cheese from The Boulevard Market and bacon.

This is a rather large batch, but you can share with a friend or have leftovers! I have also thrown in a small container of leftover cooked rice and that was fabulous! All of my produce is compliments of Prochaska Farms...we trade cheese and labor for vegetables and pick up truck usage!